Prisoned - Marni Mann Page 0,102
to do with it? If you give it to your ma, you know what’s going to happen.”
“I want to donate all of it to the community center. They did so much for me, for all of us. I want to make sure they can continue taking care of the kids who live in The Heart. I want them to have more than we did, Garin.”
Before we were old enough to hustle, the community center was where we had gone when our stomachs were empty and aching. They’d given us a roof, beds, and clean sheets when our power had been shut off. They’d dressed us in warm clothes. A donation as large as Kyle’s would only benefit the kids and give them extras they didn’t even know they were missing.
Kyle was nothing like her brother. Hell, she was nothing like me either.
She was better than both of us.
“Whatever the amount is,” I said, “I’ll match you.”
Her arms tightened around me. “I want to sell my business, too.”
“Let my team help you. They’ll fly here, they’ll get everything ready to sell, and they’ll draw up all the paperwork for you to sign. They’ll make it so much easier for you.”
She looked around the kitchen, as though she were saying good-bye to it all. “I would love that.”
“Good.” I slapped her ass, but before I pulled my hand away, I grabbed the bottom of her cheek. “Go get some towels and sunscreen, so we can go.”
On our way to the beach, Kyle asked the driver to stop at the grocery store. She went in alone and returned a few minutes later with two bags, packing them into the cooler that she had insisted we bring.
“Do you get driven everywhere?” she asked as she got into the backseat.
“I have two drivers, one for each shift. It’s rare for me to drive, but it’s happened.”
“If you need a driver twenty-four hours a day, then when do you sleep?”
I ran my hand over her thigh. The dress she had put on was white and sheer; it was almost as soft as her skin. “I don’t plan on ever sleeping when you’re in my bed.”
She giggled. It was a sound I fucking loved. It showed me how happy she was, and it was so different than the laugh I’d heard at the bar the night of Billy’s funeral. No one would ever know the torture and verbal abuse she had gone through based on that laugh.
She was so strong—stronger than she even realized.
When we got to the beach, I dropped the cooler, the towels, and the sunscreen onto the sand, and I brought Kyle straight into the ocean. Once the water became deep enough, I swam out a few feet and waited for her to catch up. I was still able to stand, so I wrapped her legs around my waist and held her close to my body.
“This water is a little warmer than the Atlantic,” she said.
“That wouldn’t have mattered when we were kids.”
“Are you kidding? Ice water wouldn’t have stopped us.” She rubbed her feet over my ass. “Would you have held me like this? To keep me warm?”
I groaned. “Shit, Kyle, I wanted to. I always wanted to.”
“I know.” She circled her arms around my neck and kissed me. “I’ve been thinking about jobs and what I’m going to do when I get out there.”
“You don’t have to work. I’ll take care of you.”
She tightened her grip. “I do have to work, and I want to work, but thank you for saying that.” She dipped her head back to get all of her hair wet. “I’m thinking I want to start using canvases again, get back into creating real art. Anthony wouldn’t let me sell any of my designs at the shop, so I stopped painting. I think he feared I would make a name for myself, and the shop would come under investigation. But, now, I have the time to do it, and I don’t have anyone telling me I can’t.”
“I’ll build you a studio in our condo.”
“You don’t have to. I can paint in the kitchen or something.”
“There are five extra bedrooms, Kyle. I think it’s okay if we convert one of them into a studio.”
“Five?”
I nodded.
“And a plane? And two drivers? Wow, things have really changed.”
“For the both of us.” I lifted a hand, so I could grip her face. “You’ll get used to it, I promise. It’ll be overwhelming at first. But just at first.”
“Will I be mingling with